Unexpected Visitor
by Aduro
Summary: Caleb answers his door to find Reid with a cop, but the reason isn't what he first supposed. Now he just has to get Reid to explain, and Reid's story might lead to a new understanding, and perhaps, friendship. Rating for Reid's lang, not that bad though.
1. The Arrival

A/N: So, this is what I did in England. I got the inspiration from all of the school-uniformed English kids I saw on the streets after their high school let out and also my abnormal psychology class, which will come into play later in on the story. This is me expanding my horizons, although, I admit not very far. I guess I just have a thing for hot, disruptive white-blond guys with special powers. So, to all of those out there like me, enjoy. Oh, yeah, it's also good for Caleb fans, because he seems like a genuinely nice guy and my sister likes him. Hey, Steve is pretty hot, and he sings, and plays. Nice.

Summary: So Caleb and Reid don't get along very well. Is it just that they don't understand each other? Why does Reid behave the way he does? What, if anything, could bring the boys together? Well, perhaps discovering some of Reid's secrets would help.

Disclaimer: Just another hot blond I don't own. Oh yeah, I don't own the rest of them either. Oh yeah, and I wrote this while away, and I didn't really edit besides a quick look over. Sorry for any mistakes. Oh yeah, I, well Reid, uses some language because I've fallen under the English influence, and also because let's face it, Reid swears.

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It was the doorbell that roused me from my sleep and I frowned. Who on earth would be calling at this hour? Pogue and Tyler were away for a vacation, which left me with the very annoying Reid for eight days. Night was the only time I could escape the youngest member of our little group, and Lord knows, without night to myself, I may have been the next homicide-suicide story on the news.

Reid was showy, egotistical, full of bad attitude and a true rebel without a cause. He and I grated on each other, had always grated on each other for as long as I can remember. I hated his lack of respect for authority, the way he thought he could do anything he wanted, and he hated me for having power over him.

I pulled on a shirt with my pajama pants as I stumbled down the stairs to the large front door, even as the doorbell was rung again and a fist pounded on the door.

I frowned and pulled it open.

Reid Garwin stood in the pouring rain, heedless of the fact that it was one in the morning.

"About time," he said, brushing past me and into the foyer. "Did you want me to drown?"

I felt like pointing out the fact that the man he was with had a perfectly large umbrella, so why didn't he share, when Reid turned on Umbrella-Man.

"See," he said. "I have a place to stay, you can shove off now."

I was confused. The man was middle aged and average looking; he was not Reid's father, as the man had died before Reid was even born, nor was he any relation to the white blond.

Umbrella-Man frowned, squinting up at me. "Is there any parental supervision in this house?" he asked snootily.

Reid jumped in before I could answer.

"Yes, Caleb's mom is upstairs in her room, but she's probably sleeping by now. However, she knows that I'm here and she told Caleb to make up the guest room for me."

She most certainly did not, and Reid had most certainly not called. What the hell was going on?

"Very well then," said the man. "I will see you tomorrow then, Mr. Garwin, and I expect real answers."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Reid, waving him off and then he shut the door in his face. I waited until the man left before exploding.

"The hell are you doing here at one in the morning?" I demanded.

"What, not happy to see me?" he asked, shooting me a grin that was one part baiting, two parts deliberate aggravation.

"If you must know, no, I'm not. It's late, I have school tomorrow, and I just got mother to bed and I don't want her waking up."

"Dude, chill," he said, going on the defense at my tone of voice. "I'm not staying. I just needed to throw off Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass there."

He brushed past me, his drenched clothing transferring the rain water onto my own clothes and I glared. I actually had to refrain myself from yelling as he picked up the silver phone in the foyer and flopped into a recently refurbished armchair, completely disregarding his sodden state and the wet, muddy water he was dripping everywhere.

He dialed nonchalantly and then kicked his legs over the side of the chair, leaning back onto a brocade pillow and ruining that as well.

"Hey, Joe. It's me," he said. "Listen, can I crash with you for tonight?"

There was silence and then, "Yeah, it is actually."

He glanced furtively my way and then spoke lower, hunching over the phone. I didn't catch much from the conversation except 'neighbor, left, and cops'. I didn't try to listen anymore but leveled him with a stare.

He hung up and turned to me with a placating grin.

"See, Joe's coming to pick me up," he said. "He's at Nicky's right now, so it will just be a few minutes. You could even go back to sleep now if you wanted to."

Like I would leave him alone in my house?

"Reid," I said. "Please tell me that wasn't a policeman at my door."

"That wasn't a policeman at your door," said Reid obediently, but his face flushed ever-so-slightly. He knew I could read him because he stiffened even as I opened my mouth.

"The hell did you do, Reid? He didn't catch you using, did he?"

"What?" That was indignant, the way Reid always got when I accused him of showing off his powers. "No!"

I couldn't tell then if he was lying or not, the same way I wasn't sure if Reid was telling the truth when I thought Chase's work was his. Whenever Reid got worked up like that, all he showed was anger and resentment, masking the tell-tale signs of embarrassment or guilt. I narrowed my eyes.

"Then perhaps you could explain to me why a policeman was delivering you to my door at one in the morning?"

"I didn't do anything wrong, if that's what you're thinking," said Reid.

"Then explain the cop." My patience was wearing thin.

Reid opened his mouth, prepared to retort something that was most likely along the lines of 'none of your business', but then he sneezed and I realized that his soaking state was doing more than ruining the furniture. He was going to catch sick, especially because it was quite cold for early fall, even for where we were.

"Alright," I said wearily. "Come on."

I jerked my head for him to follow me and then started up the stairs. I stopped when Reid made no attempt to follow me and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

"Coming where?" Reid asked suspiciously.

"To the bathroom," I said. "You're taking a hot shower and I'm finding you some dry clothes."

He looked surprised at that, but quickly joined me walking up the steps. Now that we were in a closer proximity, I could hear his teeth chatter and his lips were purple.

I didn't have to show him where the bath was as he was quite familiar with my house. Being the leader of the Ipswich meant that often times the boys would meet me here for research or to merely hang out. We had even met at Pogue's before, and Tyler's once. Now that I realize it, I had never been to Reid's home. I'd seen it, of course, when I would pick him up for school on a rare occasion, but the large mansion seemed much like my own and I held no particular interest in it. I was curious now though, to what it looked like.

Reid was stripping even before he entered the bathroom and I had to shut the door behind him. Honestly, was the boy really this needy, or did he just enjoy baiting me?

I rummaged around my room for clothes that would fit Reid. While he was only a few inches shorter than me, he was a great deal thinner, not having the bulk of muscle I did. I knew that it was just another thing Reid resented about me. His frame would always be lank, and while he did have well-defined abs and biceps, they were just toned, and not, what Sarah calls mine, rippling.

The house phone rang then and I lunged for it, not wanting my mother to wake up.

"Hello?" I asked, wondering who it was.

"Hey," said a voice. "Is Reid there?"

I frowned, not liking the idea of Reid's friends calling here for him. While they weren't particularly bad people, they were…shady.

"Yes, he is."

"Good. Can you tell him that I looked for a car, but like I told him before, mine's in the shop, so if he is coming over, he'll have to walk?"

"But it's raining," I said, surprised.

"Which is why I looked for a car, but it's a no go. He's walked it before though, but do tell him I'm sorry."

"I will," I said, frowning slightly. "Who is this again?"

"Joe. Joe Greer. I go to school with him."

I knew who Joe was, but didn't tell him that. I was grateful to Reid not giving away the fact that it was my phone number, and a little curious to the idea that Reid, who couldn't go a day without complaining or whining about something, was going to walk…I squinted, trying to gauge the distance, a good eight miles in the pouring rain. There was also the fact that Joe said he had done it before. Since he had not walked from my house before, I assumed he meant from his own, which was even further, perhaps twelve or thirteen miles.

I made my decision.

"Actually, he'll be staying with me for the night. Thank you anyway."

"Oh, good," said Joe. "It is raining pretty hard."

And then he hung up and I replaced the phone in the cradle and returned to my search for Reid's clothes, wondering about what was the next step.

Not surprisingly, Reid took a lengthy shower, finally stepping out once the room was good and steamed, a towel wrapped around his waist. Like usual, the color of his hair astounded me. Even when wet, it was still a light yellow.

"Do you have my clothes?" he asked me, rubbing at his hair with a smaller towel.

"Yes," I said.

He glanced at me a little weirdly, seeing as I had no clothes with me.

"Well?" he asked, going on the defensive yet again. I could tell because he tensed slightly.

"First you tell me what you were doing with the policeman."

Something flickered in his light blue eyes. I couldn't tell what it was because once more he was becoming angry and that covered the other emotions.

"It's none of your business."

"You're at my house so I think it is my business. I could be harboring a fugitive."

"If I had done something against the law he would have taken me to jail and not your house."

"If you haven't done something wrong, than you can tell me, can't you? You're not getting the clothes until you explain yourself."

I sounded like my mother right then, well, how she used to be. I was actually quite proud of it.

Reid snarled. "Fuck this."

He turned back to the bathroom, intent upon getting his wet clothes, but I reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Reid-,"

He shoved me away. "Go to hell, Caleb."

I grabbed his arm again, tighter this time, and turning him to face me.

"Not until you tell me what is going on."

"Not happening Danvers, now let go!" He tried to twist out of my grasp, but I didn't let go, holding on with bruising force.

"You're not leaving until you tell me."

I should have seen it coming. Being ascended means that I can tell when someone is going to use by a thrum in my head. But I didn't, and so I was flung backwards by Reid's force field.

He glared at me as I stumbled against the opposing wall, challenge in his eyes. I responded.

I flung my own shockwave at him, but he blocked it, sending an arrow of magic my way. I caught it and sent it back at him, something I learned from Chase. He wasn't expecting that and it hit, sending him sprawling. I took the chance and leapt forward in a magically-enhanced lunge.

I was on top of him before he could recover, straddling his waist and grabbing at his shoulder. My fingers hit the pressure point by his neck, I could tell when he gasped, but I didn't let up. Pain is one of the most effective ways of disabling a person's use of magic because magic takes control to tap into, control and concentration, both of which are hard to do when injured.

He writhed underneath me but I just pressed down harder. He actually cried out at the shock I sent through his body and I let up slightly.

"Do not, ever, use your magic against me," I said, threat coloring my voice black. "Do not use at all, do you hear me?"

"What's the matter, Danvers," he asked derisively, his lip curling. "Scared?"

I dug my fingers harder into his shoulder in response and he winced, breath catching. It was all I could do not to slap him, and under any other circumstances, I would have, but for some reason I tried another tactic, speaking to him like I would to Pogue or Tyler.

"Do not attack me, because you will lose. What's worse, you will become addicted to the power and end up shriveled away like my father was."

My calm paid off because Reid's eyes cleared, widening when I mentioned my father. I think that might have been the first time he ever listened to me, and I wonder if that was all I had to do, talk to him as an equal and not the immature, rebellious kid he made himself out to be.

I released his shoulder, noting how he relaxed marginally, now that the pressure was off. I got to my feet, still staring at him, lying on my floor in nothing more than a towel with red marks on his arm and shoulder that would probably turn blue with time.

"The clothes are on my bed," I said. "Go change and then come down and explain. I'll be waiting for you and don't even think about running because I will drag you back."

I didn't wait for an answer, but left. I went to the kitchen and put the kettle on for a cup of herbal tea, and then, deciding to be nice, the coffee pot for Reid. He was one of those people that drank coffee even in the middle of the night. I was quick to pull the kettle off, before it whistle too loud, not wanting to wake my mom, and then I sipped at my tea and waited.

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I'll update again soon, because this story is already pretty much written. So, how fast do you want the update? Review and tell me, and also tell me if you like it. Don't you just love my type of compulsion?


	2. The Confession

Woot! I got a reviewer, which is more than I expected because, let's face it, it's not the largest of categories. So thank you Red Rogue! And here's the new chapter!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em.

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Reid came down a few minutes later, dressed in the gray sweatpants and t-shirt I had left him. Even though they were the smallest I had, they were still quite loose on him, and he had obviously taken the liberty of hunting around my room, because he was pulling on one of my sweatshirts. I forgot he got cold easily.

He sat at the table, and I brought over a plate of biscotti's and shortbread cookies along with the two mugs. He had chosen the seat next to the foot of the table, obviously in hopes that I would sit on the opposite end, but I pulled out the chair at the end of the table. It was the reason I had let him sit first; I didn't want him avoiding me.

He stared at his coffee a bit and then spoke, actually meeting my eyes.

"My neighbor lives down the lane from my house. She noticed that my mother had been gone for awhile, so she called the police and said that I was an unsupervised minor. The police tried contacting my mother, but they couldn't reach her. They made me find a place to stay tonight. I knew that they wouldn't want me at Joe's, so I pretended to call here and then came over."

It couldn't be that simple. I knew it wouldn't be, else he wouldn't have struggled so hard, so I merely picked up a shortbread cookie and bit into it, not saying anything but keeping my eyes on his face.

Reid sighed in surrender. "It's not the first time this has happened," he elaborated, "and because of the length of her absence, they may get the social workers involved."

"Social workers?" I asked, incredulous. I had always assumed that they were only called in for cases such as abuse or neglect. "How long as she been gone?" I demanded.

Reid shifted. "Three weeks." He was lying.

"That's what you told the cops, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

It was odd, talking to Reid like this. The only other conversations I ever had with him were usually centered around me yelling at him for using, him making crude comments about drugs, women, or the appearance of other people, or the rare question on homework.

"How long has she been gone?" I asked.

"It's none of your business," he snapped.

Ah, there was the old Reid. I had spoken too soon.

"Reid, how long? Let me remind you that I will keep you in this house until I get satisfactory answers, so, one more time: how long has your mother been gone?"

Reid's shoulders slumped, almost in defeat.

"Four months."

It took a moment for it to sink in and then I could only stare in shock. Four months?

"When did she leave?" I asked, wondering how I had missed this.

"Fifteenth of July."

"She's been gone since July?"

Reid shrugged. "She's been gone before," he said.

"For longer than four months?"

Reid flushed, looking down. I knew that was a yes.

"How long?" I asked.

"She's been gone five before," he said.

"When?"

"Winter and Spring last year," said Reid.

"Any other times?" I asked.

"What are you?" asked Reid. "My fucking social worker?"

"No, but I'll tell the social worker if you aren't straight with me."

"Fuck you, Danvers!" Reid shouted, jumping to his feet. "Do you realize what's going to happen here? I'm seventeen! I will be for a while yet and if they suddenly find out that my mother's been playing hooky and bringing home strange men, they'll take me away and send me to my step-dad!"

I remembered his step-dad. When we were thirteen, Reid's mom remarried to a man named Philip. It turns out that the man was really just trying to get close to the Ipswich power and while the four of us managed to stop him, we couldn't report him to the police. Luckily, Reid's mom got sick of the man who was fond of slapping her, and they divorced.

"They wouldn't," I said. "I mean, he hit your mom, he's abusive."

"She never told the court that," said Reid. "And if I tell them, they'll just think that I'm making things up to stay in a house where I can do whatever I want."

I was silent; he had a point.

"Fuck this," Reid muttered. "Joe's probably here by now. I'm going to catch my ride."

I suddenly realized how very put together Reid's plan was. Normally, I wouldn't want him to hang around for longer than was necessary, so I would let him walk outside. When he didn't return, I would assume that his ride had come, when in all actuality, he would be walking. I would never suspect him because walking in the rain for eight miles was just a thing that my image of Reid Garwin didn't do.

"Sit down, Reid," I said. "You're not walking to Joe's house."

"I know I'm not. He's giving me a ride." His voice dripped with falsehood.

I leveled a look at him. "Don't lie to me, Reid. You're terrible at it. Joe was never at Nicky's; he was never giving you a ride."

A flush. "And what makes you think you know that?"

"He called and said he couldn't find a car, and that he was sorry you would have to walk, but you've done it before, so it's no big deal."

A deeper flush.

"You're staying here tonight, I've already told Joe, so sit down."

He did, crossing his left arm over his stomach and resting his right elbow on that arm, his right hand coming up to cover his lips. It was a typical Reid response whenever he came up against something he wasn't expecting, didn't understand, or was merely surprising. I don't think he even realized he did it.

I thought for a bit before speaking.

"What are the odds that the social workers will become involved?"

"If you don't say anything," said Reid, giving me a dark look, "then they won't get involved what-so-ever. They have more important things to deal with than a seventeen year old from a wealthy family. They've got abusive parents and what not to lock up. I just go down, tell them that my mom had an emergency and called me a few nights ago to say that she'll be home soon. Then, they let me go."

"It sounds like you've done this before," I said.

Reid shrugged. "Once or twice," he said, unconcerned. He sipped at his coffee and he seemed to relax at taste of the hot liquid.

"So, what?" I asked. "You just stay at your house?"

"Yeah," said Reid, shrugging again. "The maid comes once a week to clean up and the yard is taken care of. All I have to do is laundry and cook and do the dishes. I could just leave them out for Celia to clean, but the mess bugs me."

"When is your mom going to be home?"

"Don't know. She didn't say."

"Well, where did she go?"

"France, maybe? Not really sure."

"You're not sure."

"Not exactly."

"Does she ever tell you where she's going?"

"Most of the time, when she just leaves for a month or so, she'll just be gone before I wake up or before I come home from school. She used to leave a number when I was younger if she was going to be gone longer than usual, but she stopped a few years back."

"Mm-hmm," I said, frowning at that. What sort of mother just leaves her kid at home without any warning? "Does she leave you at home a lot?"

"She's away more than she is at home. When I was younger, she would hire a sitter for different weeks, so no one would know how long she was gone. This one time, she actually had the sitters rotate, because she couldn't find any new ones. I think the sitters suspected something, but they didn't say anything because they got paid good money and got to stay at the house for a week. When I was ten, she stopped hiring babysitters because she was afraid they would steal things. She would give me a bunch of cash and told the maid to make sure I wasn't getting into trouble. She was gone three months straight that time, then she came back for a week or so, and then back to Venice."

"Venice?"

"She's usually in Europe. That or the Caribbean."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Hey, man, sorry to hear that your mom is never home and just runs off like a teenager. That must suck, always being in the charge of babysitters. I hope they at least let you stay up past your bedtime. I changed the subject.

"Why were you out so late? Did the police have to question you?"

"Nah, that was my fault. I was at Nicky's until twelve and found the cops camped out at my house waiting for me to arrive."

"I'm sure that gave them a real good impression of you."

A flash of indignation in the blue eyes and I realized how my words had sounded.

"I didn't mean it like that," I said quickly.

My hasty retrace seemed to mollify him, but Reid had always been one who could go from completely happy to enraged to happy again at the blink of an eye. It was no wonder now why he seemed to be so unstable. With his mother randomly checking out like that for who knows how long, his mood swings were no doubt a reflection of his erratic home life.

"Well, stay here for tonight," I said. "The guest room is always ready and then I'll take you to the station in the morning."

"You serious?" asked Reid.

"Yeah, sure," I said. "I'm doing nothing, might as well make sure that you get this settled out."

I sounded off-hand. Somehow letting Reid know that I was concerned for him would feel like losing, would give him the upper hand, and I couldn't let that happen.

"Cool," said Reid, also trying to play it down. I could tell, however, by the lighter color of his eyes that he was pleasantly surprised.

"Alright, bed," I said, drinking my tea and then standing. "We've got an early day tomorrow."

"I'm going to stay up a bit," said Reid. "Not tired yet."

"If I have to wake you up tomorrow, you can kiss your ride good-bye."

"I'll be up," said Reid.

I nodded and left him sitting at the table, clad in my too-big clothes, and I felt a strange tug in my heart and I wondered vaguely if this was how an older brother would feel.

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	3. Coffee and Thank You's

A/N: I changed POV in this, I know, kinda abrupt, but when I sat down, it just came out, and it didn't quite work when I tried to change it. Hope it doesn't throw you off that much.

Thank you to my amazing reviewers. I love you all. I know this chapter is rather short, but I'll have the end up by tomorrow, and I also have a few more little stories to add as well.

Disclaimer: Want 'em, don't own 'em.

Oh yeah, this is NOT slash. Purely, friendship and later on, more of a brotherly relationship. That's all. Enjoy!

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Caleb couldn't sleep that night. For some reason his mind couldn't calm. It kept replaying scenes from the past school year in his head and he tried to pick out any details that might have clued him into the fact that Reid had gone almost a whole half-year without his mother in one stint.

As far as he could tell, Reid hadn't given anything away. There was an occasional mention of being in need of a ride to a swim meet because his mother was gone, but it was said so nonchalantly, so casually, that it was as if his mother was merely out for a coffee or a meeting of a book club.

Caleb knew that Reid couldn't lie to save his life. He also couldn't hide things; he was simply too reactive, too unrestrained. So then, for Reid to act as if there was nothing wrong when his mother hadn't been home for months, it must be that Reid honestly didn't see his mother running out for that long as a big deal. He wondered if Reid's mom had always been like that and Reid had just grown accustomed to living alone in a huge castle.

It would explain a few things about the younger Ipswich though. Reid was the only one of the four that hadn't looked forward to being a senior when they could apply for off-campus housing. Caleb enjoyed not having to live in the dorms, as did Pogue and Tyler, but Reid had looked positively unhappy when he had packed his things in Tyler's Hummer. He had said something about leaving all the pretty girls behind. Now, Caleb knew that he hadn't looking forward to the self-imposed exile in the Garwin Estate. And Reid, of course, couldn't stay at the Academy or else all sorts of questions would be raised. Reid knew he was a terrible liar, so he merely avoided situations where questions would be asked.

There were soft footsteps on the stairs and Caleb heard Reid walked further down the hall, to the guest room that was kept in the far wing of the house. He suddenly frowned, wishing that Reid was closer so he could be sure that the boy went to bed.

Caleb rolled over on his side and tried to fall asleep, but his thoughts wouldn't let him. He tried vainly to relax his mind, using the same meditation techniques he used when resisting the urge to use, the ones that helped to center him, but to no avail. It was only when the clock read two-thirty did he decide to cave in. He sighed and rolled out of bed, telling himself that he wasn't checking on Reid to see if the boy was alright, but rather out of concern that Reid might do something to his house.

On those empty assurances to his own mind, he walked down the hall and quietly opened the guest bedroom door.

Reid was lying sprawled on the comforter, not even having bothered to pull down the blankets. He was fast asleep. Caleb knew because he was perfectly still, something that awake Reid never did. He sighed again and stepped forward, moving Reid gently to the side and pulling the blankets and sheets down. He then lifted the smaller, slighter boy in between the sheets and pulled the covers over him.

Reid muttered in his sleep, something that sounded distinctly like profanities, and then he curled up on his side, his hands tucked under his cheek like a child would sleep. Reid _looked_ like a child then, his hair practically glowing in the moonlight, spread over the sheets and ruffled in front of his relaxed features.

Caleb shook his head and went back to his own bed, not liking the fact that now, after he checked on Reid, he felt calm enough to sleep. How could he be so concerned about a boy he told himself was nothing more than a pain in the neck?

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Caleb was up at eight-thirty, showering and then dressing quickly. He had to check on his mother before he took Reid to the police station.

Evelyn Danvers was, as usual, hung over from the night before, her long, dark hair tangled in a mess of snarls and curls and an empty wineglass in her hand. Caleb felt the urge to hit something. Honestly, he had been so careful to put her to bed safely. How had she managed to get the wine? She could have seriously hurt herself.

He pried the glass from her fingers but didn't try to get her up. There wasn't a point to waking her when he wouldn't be there to supervise her at home. He walked back downstairs where he began to make breakfast. He glanced at the clock. If Reid wasn't down by quarter after nine, he was waking the boy with a bucket of water.

Reid stumbled into the kitchen at nine-thirteen, running a gloved hand through his hair, causing it to stick up in a bad impression of Billy Idol. Caleb smirked.

"What?" asked Reid, hiding a yawn and then slumping into a chair at the table.

"Nothing," said Caleb, folding the omelet over.

Reid gave him a look but said nothing because he had spotted the coffee that Caleb had just recently brewed.

Reid was immediately helping himself to a mug from the cabinet and then pouring coffee. He had inhaled the first mug and was pouring the second before Caleb stopped him.

"Hey, I want some too," he said.

"Make more," said Reid shrugging.

Caleb rolled his eyes heavenward, wondering what he had done to deserve such a house guest.

"You're not one to usually drink coffee, Danvers," said Reid, setting the empty coffee pot back on the machine. "You were up later than me, weren't you?"

Caleb glanced into the sky-blue eyes and realized that Reid knew that the older Ipswich had tucked him in last night. However, instead of making a snide, biting comment, Reid emptied out the used grinds of coffee and stuck some more in to brew. Caleb wondered if that was Reid's way of thanking him.

Caleb finished the eggs and then divided them onto two plates, then put a piece of toast along side and handed a plate to Reid.

They ate in relative silence, well, relative silence for Reid that is, which meant that he actually chewed with his mouth shut, but made comments between every other bite. Caleb found that the mindless prattle was actually a pleasant change from his silent meals with his mother.

Reid actually helped stack the dishes by the counter. The maid came in during the day to clean up and so Caleb never bothered to do the dishes. It was the one chore he couldn't stand.

"We should head over to the station now," Caleb told Reid.

Reid glanced at the clock and nodded, a slight bit of apprehension in the blue eyes.

"Nervous?" asked Caleb, surprised to find that he suddenly was.

Reid snorted. "As if."

He was lying; Caleb didn't call him on it.

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Alright, so that was short, and the end is as well, which I will put up tomorrow, if everything goes well, and I have additional material for a sequel, or a series, if you're all interested. Let me know!


	4. The Beginning

Very short end, but it's not the real end. See the bottom of the page for more details.

Disclaimer: Same as alwasy. I own nothing.

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It was a scant hour later when Caleb pulled out of the police station, absolutely amazed at Reid for getting off scott-free, sporting off some bullshit about his mother being called to Florida because her mother was sick with cancer and that she wasn't supposed to be gone so long, but it looked as if his grandmother would only last a few more days.

He had played the part of a grieving bad boy trying to keep on a brave face absolutely beautifully. He had started out with a fuck-off attitude, but then, after the questions started, Reid voice had gone gruff and decidedly more self-defensive, but with a catch in his voice. There was even a moment when he had looked down, blinking rapidly, and the officer, social worker and Caleb had gotten a glimpse of tears, before the bad-boy persona had returned.

He had given the social worker a number to call that was supposed to connect with his mother and then he had been sent away, the social worker convinced that Reid was just a boy trying to appear all tough, but was really a kind and caring child underneath. He was also convinced that Reid's mother had done the right thing in leaving him home to keep up with his studies and shielding him from the heartache of seeing a most-beloved grandmamma pass away.

Caleb shook his head as he glanced over at Reid who was laughing triumphantly in the wind. The kid couldn't lie to save his life, but he could act.

"So, what now?" Caleb asked.

Reid shrugged. "You can just drop me off at home, I suppose," he said.

Caleb frowned at that, but obediently began to head towards the Garwin Estate. He watched Reid out of the corner of his eye before speaking up.

"Are you going to be alright there alone?" he asked.

Reid laughed at him. "Gonna miss me, Danvers?" he goaded.

"No," said Caleb. "Just want to make sure you won't be scared of the dark when it's just you at your house."

"Fuck off," said Reid cheerfully. "Besides, I've got a nightlight. How about you, Danvers. Sleep with the light on?"

"Not all of us are scared of monsters under the bed."

"So yours are in the closet then? Keeping the skeletons company?"

"Something like that," said Caleb vaguely. He pulled into the drive of the Garwin Estate and then turned off the car underneath the terrace leading to the front door. "You've got twenty minutes," he said.

"Twenty minutes for what?" asked Reid.

"To get your stuff and then come back. You're going to stay at my house."

Reid blinked, obviously surprised. Caleb was a little surprised as well. He had toyed with the idea on the way over, but upon looking at the large house, and then back at Reid, he had made a split second decision. He just hoped he wasn't going to regret it.

"I'm staying at your house," Reid repeated.

"Yes. You. My house. Is this a hard concept to understand?"

Reid laughed. "A hard concept? Danvers, you're like Mr. Do Good. You're more uptight than, well, than anyone I've ever met. I don't do good and I sure as hell don't do uptight. You're just asking for bloodshed."

"Maybe," said Caleb. "But if there is bloodshed, it's all going to be from you." He held his breath, hoping he said the right thing to convince Reid to get his stuff. If this tactic didn't work, than he would threaten to tell the social workers, but he was hoping it wouldn't come to that. If it did, than he was sure that Reid would never speak to him again.

Reid raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge, Danvers?"

Caleb released the breath. "More of a stating of a fact."

"Danvers, I could take you any day."

"Well it had better not be now because you only have seventeen minutes to grab your stuff."

Reid grinned, and hopped out of the car, not bothering to open the door. "You're on," he said. "You do realize you'll probably live to regret this decision?" He didn't let Caleb answer, but disappeared behind the front door.

Caleb sat back and sighed. "Most likely," he agreed.

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The End for now, but because of this amazing set-up I have, I will be doing a few follow-up stories in which I develop the relationship b/t Reid and Caleb in a purely plutonic, brotherly way. Like a short series. Excited?


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